Okay, I know--and will say right up front--that it's a stretch to compare feminism to a virus, particularly the one I have in mind, although there are some parallels. But I'm not the first or only one to make such a comparison, as a Google search confirms.

David Horowitz, writer and publisher, a leftist turned rightwinger, has compared the entire cultural and political left, including one if its subsets, radical feminism, to a virus. If Horowitz has a specific virus in mind, he doesn't name it. He does descibe its effects: "...a virus that attacks [the left's] brain cells and makes it incapable of ingesting real world facts and consequently of arriving at reasonable judgments."

I do have a specific virus in mind for my comparison--the rabies virus--because I've recently had reason to do a lot of Internet reading about it.

Several days ago a semi-stray cat bit me. (Story here: http://www.conniechastain.blogspot.com/) I have no access to his vaccination record, don't even know if he has one. So I read about rabies on the Center for Disease Control's website, and my county health department's website. While determining how I needed to respond to the bite (and following those instructions, and the advice of my doctor), I read other things about rabies.

Viruses can do nothing on their own--can't eat, can't grow, can't reproduce. They need a host for that. Most viruses are benevolent, as far as mankind is concerned. Indeed, life could not exist without them. But a very few have extremely malignant effects on their hosts. One of them is the rabies virus. Though other viruses far kill more people around the world, rabies carries its own special kind of horror.

This virus is so devastating because it attacks the central nervous system--spine and brain--the master controller of every physical thing we do, the determiner of our thought, reason, emotion, self-concept. The destruction of brain cells by the virus visits upon the victim some of the most horrifying pathologies known to man. Moreover, while rabies can easily be prevented, it cannot be cured. Once symptoms manifest, death--a horrible one, if palliative care is not available--is inevitable.

The rabies virus enters the body through a bite wound. For days, weeks, or months, it makes its way thoughtout the nervous system, remaining symptomless, until it reaches the brain. Then, symptoms appear. (Symptoms of rabies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies#Signs_and_symptoms)

If we consider radical feminism to be a virus that infects a culture or society, are we starting to see a glimmer of the parallels here? I think so, although every analogy breaks down at some point.

Consider the type and quantity of destructive change that has come to society through the work of relatively few feminist activists. The "bite" could be likened to creating in women an overwhelmining dissatisfaction with being wives and mothers (Friedan's The Feminine Mystique), the increase of coeds in colleges and universities and the prevalence of women's studies on campuses.

Through feminist-influenced graduates, the indoctrination then branches out from university campuses into government, the courts, corporations and business, law, medicine, the news and entertainment media, the popular culture, even the military and religion. In short, every aspect of culture. It invades and reshapes the very things that determines, on a societal level, who and what we are. Unlike the rabies virus, which is basically a thing with no will or intent, the radfem virus attacks society knowingly and with intent.

Because so much of what feminism seeks to change is essential to human existence, there's bound to be monumental and devastating affects on the culture, such as:

1- rejection of the sex roles of men and women which are fundamental to individuals and society;

2- the undermining of the stability of the family, the foundation on which all society rests;

3- the shunting aside of men and boys (on whom societal survival depends) in favor to making girls "feel better";

4- the demonization (or dumb-ination) of men in the popular culture;

5- the invention of "rape culture" and perpetration of false rape claims against men;

6- the astronomical dropout rates, drug use and criminal activity among fatherless children....

I could go on, but readers of this blog no doubt are well acquainted with symptoms of the radfem virus on our culture.

The question now arises--can our culture's immune system fight off the virulent attack of feminism? Or do these societal symptoms mean we've reached the point of no return?

*Connie is a member of the FRS team. Her weekly essays appear every Friday. Her personal blog ishttp://conniechastain.blogspot.com/

Okay, I know--and will say right up front--that it's a stretch to compare feminism to a virus, particularly the one I have in mind, although there are some parallels. But I'm not the first or only one to make such a comparison, as a Google search confirms.

David Horowitz, writer and publisher, a leftist turned rightwinger, has compared the entire cultural and political left, including one if its subsets, radical feminism, to a virus. If Horowitz has a specific virus in mind, he doesn't name it. He does descibe its effects: "...a virus that attacks [the left's] brain cells and makes it incapable of ingesting real world facts and consequently of arriving at reasonable judgments."

I do have a specific virus in mind for my comparison--the rabies virus--because I've recently had reason to do a lot of Internet reading about it.

Several days ago a semi-stray cat bit me. (Story here: http://www.conniechastain.blogspot.com/) I have no access to his vaccination record, don't even know if he has one. So I read about rabies on the Center for Disease Control's website, and my county health department's website. While determining how I needed to respond to the bite (and following those instructions, and the advice of my doctor), I read other things about rabies.

Viruses can do nothing on their own--can't eat, can't grow, can't reproduce. They need a host for that. Most viruses are benevolent, as far as mankind is concerned. Indeed, life could not exist without them. But a very few have extremely malignant effects on their hosts. One of them is the rabies virus. Though other viruses far kill more people around the world, rabies carries its own special kind of horror.

This virus is so devastating because it attacks the central nervous system--spine and brain--the master controller of every physical thing we do, the determiner of our thought, reason, emotion, self-concept. The destruction of brain cells by the virus visits upon the victim some of the most horrifying pathologies known to man. Moreover, while rabies can easily be prevented, it cannot be cured. Once symptoms manifest, death--a horrible one, if palliative care is not available--is inevitable.

The rabies virus enters the body through a bite wound. For days, weeks, or months, it makes its way thoughtout the nervous system, remaining symptomless, until it reaches the brain. Then, symptoms appear. (Symptoms of rabies. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabies#Signs_and_symptoms)

If we consider radical feminism to be a virus that infects a culture or society, are we starting to see a glimmer of the parallels here? I think so, although every analogy breaks down at some point.

Consider the type and quantity of destructive change that has come to society through the work of relatively few feminist activists. The "bite" could be likened to creating in women an overwhelmining dissatisfaction with being wives and mothers (Friedan's The Feminine Mystique), the increase of coeds in colleges and universities and the prevalence of women's studies on campuses.

Through feminist-influenced graduates, the indoctrination then branches out from university campuses into government, the courts, corporations and business, law, medicine, the news and entertainment media, the popular culture, even the military and religion. In short, every aspect of culture. It invades and reshapes the very things that determines, on a societal level, who and what we are. Unlike the rabies virus, which is basically a thing with no will or intent, the radfem virus attacks society knowingly and with intent.

Because so much of what feminism seeks to change is essential to human existence, there's bound to be monumental and devastating affects on the culture, such as:

1- rejection of the sex roles of men and women which are fundamental to individuals and society;

2- the undermining of the stability of the family, the foundation on which all society rests;

3- the shunting aside of men and boys (on whom societal survival depends) in favor to making girls "feel better";

4- the demonization (or dumb-ination) of men in the popular culture;

5- the invention of "rape culture" and perpetration of false rape claims against men;

6- the astronomical dropout rates, drug use and criminal activity among fatherless children....

I could go on, but readers of this blog no doubt are well acquainted with symptoms of the radfem virus on our culture.

The question now arises--can our culture's immune system fight off the virulent attack of feminism? Or do these societal symptoms mean we've reached the point of no return?

*Connie is a member of the FRS team. Her weekly essays appear every Friday. Her personal blog ishttp://conniechastain.blogspot.com/

A TEENAGER who made a false rape complaint has not been punished by the courts as Teesside's top judge said she needed help.

Kirstie Hodgson’s claim led to the arrest of two men, one held for 18 hours amid extensive police inquiries with high-profile media appeals.

Yesterday Hodgson, 19, pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice.

She still says she has been the victim of another sex assault, Teesside Crown Court heard.

She went to the front desk of Middlesbrough police station and reported she had been raped on October 19 last year.

She said she was attacked by an unknown man as she returned home from a night out in the early hours of that day.

She claimed the man told her he had a knife, forced her to perform a sex act then stole her mobile phone on Borough Road, Middlesbrough.

She pointed out the location of the alleged incident and gave a video interview to the police.

Six detectives and specialist telecommunications officers were assigned to the investigation, with more police resources deployed for searches, reassurance patrols and to prevent more attacks in the area of the bogus assault.

Forensic samples were sent off costing thousands of pounds, as well as protracted CCTV inquiries, phone tracing and eliminating potential suspects, referrals to support agencies and a “comprehensive forensic strategy”.

A 26-year-old man was arrested, held in custody for 18 hours, interviewed and medically examined. A 32-year-old second suspect was held for two hours.

Discrepancies in Hodgson’s story came to light and she was arrested herself five days after her original complaint.

She admitted she lied about the location, description of the assailant and some of the details of the alleged attack.

She maintained she had been raped but at another place, in different circumstances and by another perpetrator.

She says she told untruths and altered details in her report to police because she was afraid of her attacker.

Deborah Sherwin, defending, said: “There are grounds for believing that this quite conceivably is a girl who has been the victim of a sexual assault.”

A psychological report said Hodgson needed help, referring to physical and psychological disabilities and symptoms consistent with a victim of sexual abuse.

Hodgson, formerly of Wellington Street, Middlesbrough, had no previous convictions.

He told Hodgson: “At least one man was taken into police custody for a significant period of time as a result of your dishonesty.

“Whatever has happened to you, you’re not the only victim in all this. A perfectly innocent man was arrested and taken into police custody and interviewed at length. And that’s what happens when you tell lies to the police.

“You must leave this court realising that it was a very grave wrong that you did. And two wrongs don’t make a right. It mustn’t happen again.”

With few NHS resources to deal with Hodgson’s problems, the judge could only suggest her GP be given a copy of her psychological report.

“You certainly need the help, and that’s the reason why you’re not going to be punished or penalised today,” he added, passing a three-year conditional discharge.

Detective Inspector Andy Greenwood from Middlesbrough CID said today: “Whilst we would always urge people who are genuine victims of a sexual assault to come forward, anyone who falsely reports such an assault should be aware that their actions can waste a massive amount of police time and resources, diverting officers away from genuine crimes.

“They should also remember that in some cases, a malicious or false allegation could even result in the complainant receiving a custodial sentence.”

A TEENAGER who made a false rape complaint has not been punished by the courts as Teesside's top judge said she needed help.

Kirstie Hodgson’s claim led to the arrest of two men, one held for 18 hours amid extensive police inquiries with high-profile media appeals.

Yesterday Hodgson, 19, pleaded guilty to attempting to pervert the course of justice.

She still says she has been the victim of another sex assault, Teesside Crown Court heard.

She went to the front desk of Middlesbrough police station and reported she had been raped on October 19 last year.

She said she was attacked by an unknown man as she returned home from a night out in the early hours of that day.

She claimed the man told her he had a knife, forced her to perform a sex act then stole her mobile phone on Borough Road, Middlesbrough.

She pointed out the location of the alleged incident and gave a video interview to the police.

Six detectives and specialist telecommunications officers were assigned to the investigation, with more police resources deployed for searches, reassurance patrols and to prevent more attacks in the area of the bogus assault.

Forensic samples were sent off costing thousands of pounds, as well as protracted CCTV inquiries, phone tracing and eliminating potential suspects, referrals to support agencies and a “comprehensive forensic strategy”.

A 26-year-old man was arrested, held in custody for 18 hours, interviewed and medically examined. A 32-year-old second suspect was held for two hours.

Discrepancies in Hodgson’s story came to light and she was arrested herself five days after her original complaint.

She admitted she lied about the location, description of the assailant and some of the details of the alleged attack.

She maintained she had been raped but at another place, in different circumstances and by another perpetrator.

She says she told untruths and altered details in her report to police because she was afraid of her attacker.

Deborah Sherwin, defending, said: “There are grounds for believing that this quite conceivably is a girl who has been the victim of a sexual assault.”

A psychological report said Hodgson needed help, referring to physical and psychological disabilities and symptoms consistent with a victim of sexual abuse.

Hodgson, formerly of Wellington Street, Middlesbrough, had no previous convictions.

He told Hodgson: “At least one man was taken into police custody for a significant period of time as a result of your dishonesty.

“Whatever has happened to you, you’re not the only victim in all this. A perfectly innocent man was arrested and taken into police custody and interviewed at length. And that’s what happens when you tell lies to the police.

“You must leave this court realising that it was a very grave wrong that you did. And two wrongs don’t make a right. It mustn’t happen again.”

With few NHS resources to deal with Hodgson’s problems, the judge could only suggest her GP be given a copy of her psychological report.

“You certainly need the help, and that’s the reason why you’re not going to be punished or penalised today,” he added, passing a three-year conditional discharge.

Detective Inspector Andy Greenwood from Middlesbrough CID said today: “Whilst we would always urge people who are genuine victims of a sexual assault to come forward, anyone who falsely reports such an assault should be aware that their actions can waste a massive amount of police time and resources, diverting officers away from genuine crimes.

“They should also remember that in some cases, a malicious or false allegation could even result in the complainant receiving a custodial sentence.”

Thursday, July 29, 2010

I stumbled upon an old newspaper article written shortly after Titanic sank in 1912 that hits on a truth so simple, yet so true, that it explains much about gender relations even today. The article was a defense of J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of the company that owned Titanic, who famously survived the disaster but was widely accused of cowardice because he took a seat in a lifeboat that, many believed, could have gone to a woman.

No one has ever confused Mr. Ismay with another person who refused to give up her seat on a less expensive form of transportation, Rosa Parks, but one could ask the same question about both: should someone be deprived of their seat -- on a bus, a train, a roller coaster, or even a lifeboat -- simply because of their birth class? I think not, yet Mr. Ismay is widely regarded as a coward while Ms. Parks is properly lionized -- because men belong to the one birth class expected to sacrifice themselves for the other. Even today.

But I digress. The article talked about the "armchair hero" who would sooner sit in judgment of the men who did not lose their lives than applaud the contributions of those who did, and it offered a plausible explanation for why some of the lifeboats on the ship were not filled:

Ever ponder why more progressives, especially progressive men, who are otherwise concerned with the plight of the downtrodden do not join our fight? It's because the "armchair hero" is very much alive and well, thank you very much. He's transformed himself a little, to be sure. He's no longer just a chivalrous presence; he's also assumed the garb of feminism and he's taken on a patina of political correctness. But otherwise, nothing much has changed since Titanic sank. The armchair hero still dictates what is socially acceptable.

Now, almost 100 years after Titanic, the armchair hero has concocted a new "crisis" that he uses as a yardstick to judge men's actions. He insists that women, and girls, need to be rescued from the scourge of rape just as women and children on Titanic needed to be rescued from the icy grip of the briny deep.

No matter how many men and boys are drowning from rape lies, and no matter how many empty seats there are in the lifeboats, the armchair hero makes it clear that you simply can't be a hero if you rescue men and boys.

Then, as now, the armchair hero is not appeased by the appalling death-roll of men. He asks for more.

I stumbled upon an old newspaper article written shortly after Titanic sank in 1912 that hits on a truth so simple, yet so true, that it explains much about gender relations even today. The article was a defense of J. Bruce Ismay, chairman of the company that owned Titanic, who famously survived the disaster but was widely accused of cowardice because he took a seat in a lifeboat that, many believed, could have gone to a woman.

No one has ever confused Mr. Ismay with another person who refused to give up her seat on a less expensive form of transportation, Rosa Parks, but one could ask the same question about both: should someone be deprived of their seat -- on a bus, a train, a roller coaster, or even a lifeboat -- simply because of their birth class? I think not, yet Mr. Ismay is widely regarded as a coward while Ms. Parks is properly lionized -- because men belong to the one birth class expected to sacrifice themselves for the other. Even today.

But I digress. The article talked about the "armchair hero" who would sooner sit in judgment of the men who did not lose their lives than applaud the contributions of those who did, and it offered a plausible explanation for why some of the lifeboats on the ship were not filled:

Ever ponder why more progressives, especially progressive men, who are otherwise concerned with the plight of the downtrodden do not join our fight? It's because the "armchair hero" is very much alive and well, thank you very much. He's transformed himself a little, to be sure. He's no longer just a chivalrous presence; he's also assumed the garb of feminism and he's taken on a patina of political correctness. But otherwise, nothing much has changed since Titanic sank. The armchair hero still dictates what is socially acceptable.

Now, almost 100 years after Titanic, the armchair hero has concocted a new "crisis" that he uses as a yardstick to judge men's actions. He insists that women, and girls, need to be rescued from the scourge of rape just as women and children on Titanic needed to be rescued from the icy grip of the briny deep.

No matter how many men and boys are drowning from rape lies, and no matter how many empty seats there are in the lifeboats, the armchair hero makes it clear that you simply can't be a hero if you rescue men and boys.

Then, as now, the armchair hero is not appeased by the appalling death-roll of men. He asks for more.

HILLSBORO -- After 58 days in jail as an accused rapist, Mohamed M. Garare, 19, stood outside in the bright sunshine this afternoon a free man.

But the Beaverton teen said his sudden freedom didn't make up for two months lost due to unsupported accusations, which has shaken the Kenya native's faith in American justice.

"You can never get time back," he said. "Time is precious, and I wasted precious time."

Garare's trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday morning, but instead Chief Deputy District Attorney Rob Bletko dismissed the charges. Garare's accuser was not a reliable source, he told the judge.

Bletko said despite the teen's time in jail, the system worked in keeping Garare from a wrongful conviction.

As a prosecutor, Bletko said, "if you don't believe the defendant is guilty, you don't take that defendant to trial."

And in this case, he said, "I don't believe he committed this crime."

Bletko said the 22-year-old Seaside woman who told police she was sexually assaulted and cut with a razor didn't show up to court Wednesday, nor could she be found last week when detectives needed to serve her with a subpoena. When authorities finally tracked her down and interviewed her on Tuesday, she took a break to smoke a cigarette and never returned.

On May 12, the woman told police she was looking for a ride near the Beaverton Transit Center back to the coast when she willingly got into a vehicle and was taken to Garare's apartment. Once there, the woman said Garare raped and cut her with some type of blade. Beaverton Police Detective Pam Yazzolino said the woman reported the alleged attack after she escaped from the home and ran to a local business.

The woman was examined, Bletko said, and she did have lacerations on her face. However, forensic tests revealed the only blood found in Garare's apartment wasn't hers but Garare's. The victim's lack of cooperation and a lack of any forensic evidence led Bletko to question Garare's guilt, he said.

Additionally, Garare took two polygraph tests – one for his attorney and one for the prosecution – and he passed both. While polygraph test results cannot be submitted as evidence in court, the results caused Bletko to further question the case, he said.

Before his May 12 arrest, Garare was attending community college part-time, working at a new job and supporting himself on his own in his first apartment. He was living the life his family hoped for when they moved to the United States from Kenya in late 2000.

The biggest reason for the move, Garare said, was a polio-related surgery he needed for his left leg. The surgery worked, and Garare became acclimated to a new country, learning fluent English before entering Aloha High School.

"I had to learn quickly," he said. "I'm a people person."

In the months since his arrest, Garare has lost his job, his apartment and a few friends, said his brother, Abdi Garare.

Garare said he and his family's faith in the justice system and the opportunities this country has to offer has been shaken.

"I believed in the government," he said. "But I lost that respect."

Jail wasn't a kind place for an alleged rapist, Garare said. Many inmates wanted nothing to do with him. Convicted felons complained about sharing space with an alleged rapist. One man even punched him in the face, he said.

In high school, Garare said, he was the friendly class clown. An outgoing teen, Garare said being treated as an outcast made his time in jail even lonelier.

But Garare said the worst result of the allegations has been the damage to his reputation. When he discovered his 2-year-old niece had seen his jail mug shot on the TV news, his heart sank. "That kills me," he said.

Garare and his family worry that the far-reaching accusations won't disappear soon enough. Although he said he has a lot of supporters in the community, he's also seen some friends and neighbors believe the early police reports.

"The first thing I'm going to do is take a warm shower – a bath maybe – eat real food and get on Facebook and clear my image," he said.

[FRS COMMENT] - Do you suppose they could have mentioned if a warrant has been issued for the arrest of this, for some reason, unnamed woman? Does anyone think an arrest warrant will even be issued?

HILLSBORO -- After 58 days in jail as an accused rapist, Mohamed M. Garare, 19, stood outside in the bright sunshine this afternoon a free man.

But the Beaverton teen said his sudden freedom didn't make up for two months lost due to unsupported accusations, which has shaken the Kenya native's faith in American justice.

"You can never get time back," he said. "Time is precious, and I wasted precious time."

Garare's trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday morning, but instead Chief Deputy District Attorney Rob Bletko dismissed the charges. Garare's accuser was not a reliable source, he told the judge.

Bletko said despite the teen's time in jail, the system worked in keeping Garare from a wrongful conviction.

As a prosecutor, Bletko said, "if you don't believe the defendant is guilty, you don't take that defendant to trial."

And in this case, he said, "I don't believe he committed this crime."

Bletko said the 22-year-old Seaside woman who told police she was sexually assaulted and cut with a razor didn't show up to court Wednesday, nor could she be found last week when detectives needed to serve her with a subpoena. When authorities finally tracked her down and interviewed her on Tuesday, she took a break to smoke a cigarette and never returned.

On May 12, the woman told police she was looking for a ride near the Beaverton Transit Center back to the coast when she willingly got into a vehicle and was taken to Garare's apartment. Once there, the woman said Garare raped and cut her with some type of blade. Beaverton Police Detective Pam Yazzolino said the woman reported the alleged attack after she escaped from the home and ran to a local business.

The woman was examined, Bletko said, and she did have lacerations on her face. However, forensic tests revealed the only blood found in Garare's apartment wasn't hers but Garare's. The victim's lack of cooperation and a lack of any forensic evidence led Bletko to question Garare's guilt, he said.

Additionally, Garare took two polygraph tests – one for his attorney and one for the prosecution – and he passed both. While polygraph test results cannot be submitted as evidence in court, the results caused Bletko to further question the case, he said.

Before his May 12 arrest, Garare was attending community college part-time, working at a new job and supporting himself on his own in his first apartment. He was living the life his family hoped for when they moved to the United States from Kenya in late 2000.

The biggest reason for the move, Garare said, was a polio-related surgery he needed for his left leg. The surgery worked, and Garare became acclimated to a new country, learning fluent English before entering Aloha High School.

"I had to learn quickly," he said. "I'm a people person."

In the months since his arrest, Garare has lost his job, his apartment and a few friends, said his brother, Abdi Garare.

Garare said he and his family's faith in the justice system and the opportunities this country has to offer has been shaken.

"I believed in the government," he said. "But I lost that respect."

Jail wasn't a kind place for an alleged rapist, Garare said. Many inmates wanted nothing to do with him. Convicted felons complained about sharing space with an alleged rapist. One man even punched him in the face, he said.

In high school, Garare said, he was the friendly class clown. An outgoing teen, Garare said being treated as an outcast made his time in jail even lonelier.

But Garare said the worst result of the allegations has been the damage to his reputation. When he discovered his 2-year-old niece had seen his jail mug shot on the TV news, his heart sank. "That kills me," he said.

Garare and his family worry that the far-reaching accusations won't disappear soon enough. Although he said he has a lot of supporters in the community, he's also seen some friends and neighbors believe the early police reports.

"The first thing I'm going to do is take a warm shower – a bath maybe – eat real food and get on Facebook and clear my image," he said.

[FRS COMMENT] - Do you suppose they could have mentioned if a warrant has been issued for the arrest of this, for some reason, unnamed woman? Does anyone think an arrest warrant will even be issued?

Want to get back at your boyfriend for not helping with the housework? Don't just talk to him about it and tell him how it offends you when he doesn't help. Tell the police he raped you and try to destroy his life. The next time a progressive self-righteously, sarcastically, and incredulously inquires, "Why would a woman lie about rape, given the ordeal she knows she will be put through?" Just tell her about Faye Pendlebury, featured in the news story below, who told a rape lie to get back at her boyfriend for that very "infraction."

Sadly, we have reported on this site rape lies told for far less serious "infractions." A male teacher reprimands you? Tell mommy he raped you -- it'll send him to jail, ruin his marriage, end his career, and pretty much destroy his life. A cab driver threatens to call the police over an unpaid fare? Just tell the police he raped you and send him to jail. A boy in school rejects you? He does so at his peril, because countless young women have told rape lies in that situation. Your father grounds you? He risks his life for doing that because you can destroy him with one phone call.

In the story below, Ms. Pendlebury appeared "shocked and stunned" as she was led from the dock by security staff to be locked away for eight months. She likely was "shocked and stunned" because custodial sentences for false rape lies are so rare. Perhaps if more would-be rape liars understood that their lies would lead to a custodial sentence, the power to cry "rape" would not be so terribly abused.

A CARE assistant has been locked up for eight months for lying to police that her boyfriend raped her.

Faye Pendlebury, aged 36, made the claim as a "point scoring" exercise during a volatile relationship, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

After she made her false claim Pendlebury's 32-year-old boyfriend Alan Jones was arrested and detained by police.

He was later released on bail but was re-arrested after she lied again, this time claiming he had assaulted her.

Pendlebury said she concocted the second fictional attack to get back at him for not helping her with the housework. Judge Simon Lawler QC told Pendlebury: "False complaints of rape are always regarded as a very serious matter. It is quite impossible to avoid an immediate custodial sentence."

Pendlebury, of Britain Street, Mexborough, appeared shocked and stunned as she was led from the dock by security staff.

Louise Gallagher, prosecuting, said Pendlebury was arrested during a 3am disturbance at Mr Jones' home in Goldthorpe, near Barnsley. She was drunk, agitated and screaming, and was taken to Barnsley police station for breaching the peace.

During questioning she appeared frightened and showed officers bruising on her thighs. She asked to see a doctor and then claimed she had been raped by Mr Jones.

He was arrested at 5.15am on suspicion of rape and taken to Ecclesfield police station for questioning. DNA samples were also taken from him.

Mr Jones, who had also been drinking, remained in police custody for 10.5 hours until he was granted bail.

Three days later Pendlebury contacted the police again and accused Mr Jones of assaulting her while on bail by punching her on the nose and hitting her with a bottle.

He was arrested again but soon afterwards Pendlebury admitted the assault was untrue.

Miss Gallagher said: "She said it had been made up to get back at Mr Jones for not helping her with the housework."

The next day she admitted she had cried rape to "score points" against Mr Jones after her arrest.

She was then detained and told police she had been so drunk she could not remember making the rape claim.

Pendlebury said: "It was point scoring, I honestly thought they would not believe me."

She admitted perverting the course of justice.

Robert Sandford, defending, said she had undergone treatment for a drink problem. Mr Sandford said she had been in a relationship with Mr Jones' father and they had two children. When the relationship ended last December, she took up with Alan Jones.

He said she had taken steps to improve her life by moving away from her former address on Victoria Street, Goldthorpe to Mexborough.

Want to get back at your boyfriend for not helping with the housework? Don't just talk to him about it and tell him how it offends you when he doesn't help. Tell the police he raped you and try to destroy his life. The next time a progressive self-righteously, sarcastically, and incredulously inquires, "Why would a woman lie about rape, given the ordeal she knows she will be put through?" Just tell her about Faye Pendlebury, featured in the news story below, who told a rape lie to get back at her boyfriend for that very "infraction."

Sadly, we have reported on this site rape lies told for far less serious "infractions." A male teacher reprimands you? Tell mommy he raped you -- it'll send him to jail, ruin his marriage, end his career, and pretty much destroy his life. A cab driver threatens to call the police over an unpaid fare? Just tell the police he raped you and send him to jail. A boy in school rejects you? He does so at his peril, because countless young women have told rape lies in that situation. Your father grounds you? He risks his life for doing that because you can destroy him with one phone call.

In the story below, Ms. Pendlebury appeared "shocked and stunned" as she was led from the dock by security staff to be locked away for eight months. She likely was "shocked and stunned" because custodial sentences for false rape lies are so rare. Perhaps if more would-be rape liars understood that their lies would lead to a custodial sentence, the power to cry "rape" would not be so terribly abused.

A CARE assistant has been locked up for eight months for lying to police that her boyfriend raped her.

Faye Pendlebury, aged 36, made the claim as a "point scoring" exercise during a volatile relationship, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

After she made her false claim Pendlebury's 32-year-old boyfriend Alan Jones was arrested and detained by police.

He was later released on bail but was re-arrested after she lied again, this time claiming he had assaulted her.

Pendlebury said she concocted the second fictional attack to get back at him for not helping her with the housework. Judge Simon Lawler QC told Pendlebury: "False complaints of rape are always regarded as a very serious matter. It is quite impossible to avoid an immediate custodial sentence."

Pendlebury, of Britain Street, Mexborough, appeared shocked and stunned as she was led from the dock by security staff.

Louise Gallagher, prosecuting, said Pendlebury was arrested during a 3am disturbance at Mr Jones' home in Goldthorpe, near Barnsley. She was drunk, agitated and screaming, and was taken to Barnsley police station for breaching the peace.

During questioning she appeared frightened and showed officers bruising on her thighs. She asked to see a doctor and then claimed she had been raped by Mr Jones.

He was arrested at 5.15am on suspicion of rape and taken to Ecclesfield police station for questioning. DNA samples were also taken from him.

Mr Jones, who had also been drinking, remained in police custody for 10.5 hours until he was granted bail.

Three days later Pendlebury contacted the police again and accused Mr Jones of assaulting her while on bail by punching her on the nose and hitting her with a bottle.

He was arrested again but soon afterwards Pendlebury admitted the assault was untrue.

Miss Gallagher said: "She said it had been made up to get back at Mr Jones for not helping her with the housework."

The next day she admitted she had cried rape to "score points" against Mr Jones after her arrest.

She was then detained and told police she had been so drunk she could not remember making the rape claim.

Pendlebury said: "It was point scoring, I honestly thought they would not believe me."

She admitted perverting the course of justice.

Robert Sandford, defending, said she had undergone treatment for a drink problem. Mr Sandford said she had been in a relationship with Mr Jones' father and they had two children. When the relationship ended last December, she took up with Alan Jones.

He said she had taken steps to improve her life by moving away from her former address on Victoria Street, Goldthorpe to Mexborough.

Once again, the only thing standing between a man and a lengthy prison sentence due to a false rape accusation is modern technology. We've reported on numerous cases where a video saves a man or boy from jail, but this is the first case we've seen where an iPhone saved the day. One question: when will falsely accused men and boys not have to beg the authorities to bring criminal charges against their false accusers? Why is it so much to ask law enforcement to enforce the law?

A MAN'S business and reputation are tainted, a young woman's HSC and mental health are in tatters and prosecutors have been ordered to pay more than $30,000 in legal costs for a bungled rape investigation on Sydney's northern beaches.

But it could have been worse still, if not for the trove of secrets stored in one of the world's most popular mobile phones.

In what may be the first time an iPhone's elephantine memory has saved someone accused of a serious crime, deleted data retrieved by a leading surveillance expert appears to have led to the dropping of five rape charges against a Sydney man.

Robert*, in his 60s, was a property manager to the rich and famous and a dog breeder.

Jessica* was the 18-year-old daughter of a friend, who never knew her father and dreamed of working with animals.

Their friendship blossomed as they spent mornings training his prize German shepherds. He gave her a $20,000 dog. For three months, they had sex repeatedly en route to dog shows and at a Whale Beach mansion where Elle Macpherson has stayed.

In August last year she accused him of rape. It was - and remains - a case of his word against hers.

Robert lost a job with the Catholic Church, from which he had earned more than $100,000 over the past three years, and was told he could no longer worship there.

The investigating officer, Detective Senior Constable Karen Hennessy, seized the $20,000 dog, saying it was relevant to the investigation.

The only thing standing between Robert and five sentences of up to 14 years were the messages from her on his iPhone, which he had deleted to conceal the relationship.

Mr Coulthart retrieved more than 300 deleted texts and phone calls from the alleged victim, some of which appeared to undermine the allegations.

Prosecutors later withdrew the charges and have been ordered to pay $30,056 of Robert's legal costs.

''Without the ability of Coulthart to drag the content out, a man's life may have been ruined,'' Mr Gooley said. ''[iPhone evidence is] a bit like DNA. It can work both ways.''

From a cohort of about 20 people in Australia with the equipment and know-how to do this sort of forensic work, Mr Coulthart said it was the first case he had seen in which an iPhone investigation commissioned by a defence lawyer has led to charges being dropped.

''Usually [when] you get engaged by the defence and they say, 'This person says they didn't do it', you find evidence that they have done it,'' he said.

Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones since 2007 but few users know how much information they collect. The keyboard logging cache means an expert can retrieve anything typed on it for up to 12 months. Its internal mapping and ''geotags'' attached to photos indicate where a user has been.

An iPhone has up to 32 gigabytes of data that can be ''imaged'' or decoded with the right equipment, Mr Coulthart said, even if it has been deleted.

Robert wants police to investigate Jessica for causing a false investigation and is considering civil action against the police and the church.

''It's put huge pressure on my home life and on my business,'' he said. ''I had to go through the denigration of being charged and I've never been in trouble in my life.''

Jessica did not want to comment.

A spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said it withdrew the charges because the victim did not want to proceed and that ''the brief of evidence had not been given to the ODPP at the time this matter was withdrawn''. A police spokeswoman said that, for operational reasons, it was inappropriate to comment except to say that the alleged victim had told police she did not wish to pursue the matter.

Once again, the only thing standing between a man and a lengthy prison sentence due to a false rape accusation is modern technology. We've reported on numerous cases where a video saves a man or boy from jail, but this is the first case we've seen where an iPhone saved the day. One question: when will falsely accused men and boys not have to beg the authorities to bring criminal charges against their false accusers? Why is it so much to ask law enforcement to enforce the law?

A MAN'S business and reputation are tainted, a young woman's HSC and mental health are in tatters and prosecutors have been ordered to pay more than $30,000 in legal costs for a bungled rape investigation on Sydney's northern beaches.

But it could have been worse still, if not for the trove of secrets stored in one of the world's most popular mobile phones.

In what may be the first time an iPhone's elephantine memory has saved someone accused of a serious crime, deleted data retrieved by a leading surveillance expert appears to have led to the dropping of five rape charges against a Sydney man.

Robert*, in his 60s, was a property manager to the rich and famous and a dog breeder.

Jessica* was the 18-year-old daughter of a friend, who never knew her father and dreamed of working with animals.

Their friendship blossomed as they spent mornings training his prize German shepherds. He gave her a $20,000 dog. For three months, they had sex repeatedly en route to dog shows and at a Whale Beach mansion where Elle Macpherson has stayed.

In August last year she accused him of rape. It was - and remains - a case of his word against hers.

Robert lost a job with the Catholic Church, from which he had earned more than $100,000 over the past three years, and was told he could no longer worship there.

The investigating officer, Detective Senior Constable Karen Hennessy, seized the $20,000 dog, saying it was relevant to the investigation.

The only thing standing between Robert and five sentences of up to 14 years were the messages from her on his iPhone, which he had deleted to conceal the relationship.

Mr Coulthart retrieved more than 300 deleted texts and phone calls from the alleged victim, some of which appeared to undermine the allegations.

Prosecutors later withdrew the charges and have been ordered to pay $30,056 of Robert's legal costs.

''Without the ability of Coulthart to drag the content out, a man's life may have been ruined,'' Mr Gooley said. ''[iPhone evidence is] a bit like DNA. It can work both ways.''

From a cohort of about 20 people in Australia with the equipment and know-how to do this sort of forensic work, Mr Coulthart said it was the first case he had seen in which an iPhone investigation commissioned by a defence lawyer has led to charges being dropped.

''Usually [when] you get engaged by the defence and they say, 'This person says they didn't do it', you find evidence that they have done it,'' he said.

Apple has sold more than 50 million iPhones since 2007 but few users know how much information they collect. The keyboard logging cache means an expert can retrieve anything typed on it for up to 12 months. Its internal mapping and ''geotags'' attached to photos indicate where a user has been.

An iPhone has up to 32 gigabytes of data that can be ''imaged'' or decoded with the right equipment, Mr Coulthart said, even if it has been deleted.

Robert wants police to investigate Jessica for causing a false investigation and is considering civil action against the police and the church.

''It's put huge pressure on my home life and on my business,'' he said. ''I had to go through the denigration of being charged and I've never been in trouble in my life.''

Jessica did not want to comment.

A spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions said it withdrew the charges because the victim did not want to proceed and that ''the brief of evidence had not been given to the ODPP at the time this matter was withdrawn''. A police spokeswoman said that, for operational reasons, it was inappropriate to comment except to say that the alleged victim had told police she did not wish to pursue the matter.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

A WOMAN is facing charges of making a false complaint to police after claiming she was raped in Port Melbourne last month.

The 22-year-old's story prompted a man-hunt for the alleged offender and a significant police investigation, costing thousands of dollars in time and resources.

On May 28, Victoria Police contacted the Sunday Herald Sun with the story in a bid to alert the public and appeal for help to find the alleged offender. When contacted on Friday by the Sunday Herald Sun, the woman, who is receiving counselling, said she was sorry for lying.

"I haven't meant to upset anyone," she said.

The woman claimed she was still the victim of a sexual assault, which occurred "somewhere else".

Police from the Moorabbin sexual offences unit said the woman had made "full admissions" on Thursday night that she had lied to police.

Detective Sgt Paul Toogood said a brief of evidence was being compiled to determine whether the woman would be charged with making a false report.

Sgt Toogood said the Port Melbourne community needed to be informed the rapist did not exist.

"The offence reported on that date did not occur. There is no reason for the people of Port Melbourne to be apprehensive going about their business," he said.

The woman claimed she had been grabbed by the throat from behind and dragged into an alcove on the St Joseph's Church grounds on Rouse St, where she was raped between 8pm and 8.30pm on May 25.

Police said they hoped the false report would not discourage victims from coming forward for help.

A WOMAN is facing charges of making a false complaint to police after claiming she was raped in Port Melbourne last month.

The 22-year-old's story prompted a man-hunt for the alleged offender and a significant police investigation, costing thousands of dollars in time and resources.

On May 28, Victoria Police contacted the Sunday Herald Sun with the story in a bid to alert the public and appeal for help to find the alleged offender. When contacted on Friday by the Sunday Herald Sun, the woman, who is receiving counselling, said she was sorry for lying.

"I haven't meant to upset anyone," she said.

The woman claimed she was still the victim of a sexual assault, which occurred "somewhere else".

Police from the Moorabbin sexual offences unit said the woman had made "full admissions" on Thursday night that she had lied to police.

Detective Sgt Paul Toogood said a brief of evidence was being compiled to determine whether the woman would be charged with making a false report.

Sgt Toogood said the Port Melbourne community needed to be informed the rapist did not exist.

"The offence reported on that date did not occur. There is no reason for the people of Port Melbourne to be apprehensive going about their business," he said.

The woman claimed she had been grabbed by the throat from behind and dragged into an alcove on the St Joseph's Church grounds on Rouse St, where she was raped between 8pm and 8.30pm on May 25.

Police said they hoped the false report would not discourage victims from coming forward for help.

No one would blame Allen Wayne Porter if he had bitterness about spending half his life behind bars for a crime he did not commit. For 19 years, he consistently claimed his innocence, and no one would listen.

But Porter, who was set free on Friday, isn't interested in living with an angry heart. His Christian faith, which he says got him though those tough years, won't let him.

"Everybody makes mistakes," Porter said. "I think that's mainly what it was. They just made a big mistake."

Surrounded by his mother, sister and other family members, Porter, 39, thanked God and his attorney, Casey Garrett, for getting him released.

After fighting for so long to gain his freedom, now that he has it, it almost doesn't feel real, he said.

Porter was sentenced to life in prison for a June 18, 1990, rape and robbery in southwest Houston. He was identified as one of three men who kicked their way into a drug dealer's residence in search of money and drugs. They terrorized the apartment's four occupants, repeatedly raping two women.

Porter said he was innocent from the beginning. He tried to challenge his conviction but was turned away by several lawyers.

His break came last year when he wrote a letter to Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos, explaining how he was found guilty by mistaken identity. Lykos reopened the case, launching an investigation.

During a hearing Thursday, Porter's nephew, Jimmy Hatton, and Perry Harrison told state District Judge Joan Campbell they committed the crime along with a third man. They said Porter was not at the crime scene.

Porter was arrested while attending Hatton's trial with other family members after one of the rape victims identified him as her attacker.

Free on $30,000 bail

Campbell found Hatton and Harrison credible witnesses. On Friday, she ordered Porter's release on $30,000 bail. She plans to forward her findings of fact in the case to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and recommend that Porter's conviction be overturned and his life sentence be vacated.

If the court agrees with Campbell's findings of actual innocence, it would grant Porter a new trial.

"The court of criminal appeals still has to make final decision," Garrett, Porter's lawyer, said. "We will wait anxiously for them to make a decision. I'm hopeful and confident it will endorse Judge Campbell's findings. I think the court of criminal appeals will do the right thing."

Special prosecutor Bob Loper said that if Porter is granted a new trial, he would move to dismiss the case.

"It's a completely sad case," Loper said. "No one could imagine a family member going through that, and to know that for so many years this has happened and someone's been crying out they're innocent. You can't wrap your mind around that."

First hearing in 2004

Porter first presented his case before Campbell in 2004. He obtained DNA testing,which failed to link him to rape-scene evidence. But a lab technician testified that absence of DNA evidence linking Porter to the crime didn't mean he was innocent. Campbell ruled against him.

In his second appearance before Campbell, Porter had testimony and fingerprints — evidence found by Lykos' post-conviction review team — to back his claim of innocence.

Baldwin Chin, a member of the review team, interviewed Hatton and Harrison, which led to the third suspect's name - and to the fact that finger and palm prints at the crime scene had never been identified.

Chin told the judge that four of six prints collected at the scene matched those of the third never-apprehended suspect.

Lykos said her office has a sworn mission to serve justice. "The integrity of the criminal justice system means everything," Lykos said. "Wrongful convictions are a triple tragedy - for the accused, the victim and for society. The true criminal is free to continue to commit offenses."

Word of advice

Porter said he never once thought about giving up. He said his faith in God and support from his family kept him strong. He said he would advise others in his same position to do what he did.

"Don't never give up," he said. "It's never over. As long as you are breathing, just keep fighting."

His sister, Sandra Reeves, said the family is thrilled to have him home and harbors no bad feelings about what happened to him. She said they drew their strength from Porter.

"There were times when I got down, and I could read his letters and just hear the determination in the letters," Reeves said. "And I thank God I drew from that and I held on."

Hatton remains in prison serving a life sentence for the crime.

Harrison, who was never charged with the crime, is serving a drug sentence in state prison.

The third suspect cannot be charged because the statute of limitation has passed.

No one would blame Allen Wayne Porter if he had bitterness about spending half his life behind bars for a crime he did not commit. For 19 years, he consistently claimed his innocence, and no one would listen.

But Porter, who was set free on Friday, isn't interested in living with an angry heart. His Christian faith, which he says got him though those tough years, won't let him.

"Everybody makes mistakes," Porter said. "I think that's mainly what it was. They just made a big mistake."

Surrounded by his mother, sister and other family members, Porter, 39, thanked God and his attorney, Casey Garrett, for getting him released.

After fighting for so long to gain his freedom, now that he has it, it almost doesn't feel real, he said.

Porter was sentenced to life in prison for a June 18, 1990, rape and robbery in southwest Houston. He was identified as one of three men who kicked their way into a drug dealer's residence in search of money and drugs. They terrorized the apartment's four occupants, repeatedly raping two women.

Porter said he was innocent from the beginning. He tried to challenge his conviction but was turned away by several lawyers.

His break came last year when he wrote a letter to Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos, explaining how he was found guilty by mistaken identity. Lykos reopened the case, launching an investigation.

During a hearing Thursday, Porter's nephew, Jimmy Hatton, and Perry Harrison told state District Judge Joan Campbell they committed the crime along with a third man. They said Porter was not at the crime scene.

Porter was arrested while attending Hatton's trial with other family members after one of the rape victims identified him as her attacker.

Free on $30,000 bail

Campbell found Hatton and Harrison credible witnesses. On Friday, she ordered Porter's release on $30,000 bail. She plans to forward her findings of fact in the case to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and recommend that Porter's conviction be overturned and his life sentence be vacated.

If the court agrees with Campbell's findings of actual innocence, it would grant Porter a new trial.

"The court of criminal appeals still has to make final decision," Garrett, Porter's lawyer, said. "We will wait anxiously for them to make a decision. I'm hopeful and confident it will endorse Judge Campbell's findings. I think the court of criminal appeals will do the right thing."

Special prosecutor Bob Loper said that if Porter is granted a new trial, he would move to dismiss the case.

"It's a completely sad case," Loper said. "No one could imagine a family member going through that, and to know that for so many years this has happened and someone's been crying out they're innocent. You can't wrap your mind around that."

First hearing in 2004

Porter first presented his case before Campbell in 2004. He obtained DNA testing,which failed to link him to rape-scene evidence. But a lab technician testified that absence of DNA evidence linking Porter to the crime didn't mean he was innocent. Campbell ruled against him.

In his second appearance before Campbell, Porter had testimony and fingerprints — evidence found by Lykos' post-conviction review team — to back his claim of innocence.

Baldwin Chin, a member of the review team, interviewed Hatton and Harrison, which led to the third suspect's name - and to the fact that finger and palm prints at the crime scene had never been identified.

Chin told the judge that four of six prints collected at the scene matched those of the third never-apprehended suspect.

Lykos said her office has a sworn mission to serve justice. "The integrity of the criminal justice system means everything," Lykos said. "Wrongful convictions are a triple tragedy - for the accused, the victim and for society. The true criminal is free to continue to commit offenses."

Word of advice

Porter said he never once thought about giving up. He said his faith in God and support from his family kept him strong. He said he would advise others in his same position to do what he did.

"Don't never give up," he said. "It's never over. As long as you are breathing, just keep fighting."

His sister, Sandra Reeves, said the family is thrilled to have him home and harbors no bad feelings about what happened to him. She said they drew their strength from Porter.

"There were times when I got down, and I could read his letters and just hear the determination in the letters," Reeves said. "And I thank God I drew from that and I held on."

Hatton remains in prison serving a life sentence for the crime.

Harrison, who was never charged with the crime, is serving a drug sentence in state prison.

The third suspect cannot be charged because the statute of limitation has passed.

Monday, July 26, 2010

The next time someone self-righteously inquires, "Why would a woman lie about rape, given the ordeal she knows she will be put through?" Just tell her that she might lie about rape if a man refuses to buy her a beer. Tell her about the news story below, where Kristin Milligan tried to destroy the life of a man she didn't know because he wouldn't give her a beer. We have seen some terribly lame reasons for falsely accusing men and boys of rape -- we've seen rape lies told as an excuse for being late for work and to get out of paying a cab fare -- but this ranks among the more absurd. The woman in question was a serial false accuser, and fortunately the police were familiar with her and knew enough to stop her before she could destroy an innocent man.

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Authorities arrested Kristin Milligan, 54, after police said she made false reports about being raped and sparked an emergency response from the Austin Police Department Friday.

A couple of police officers responded to Sixth Street and Congress Avenue about a disturbance in progress at 8:15 p.m., after Milligan reportedly called to say there was a male on the scene who had kidnapped and held her captive for five days. Milligan allegedly told the operator he had fled the scene but said she could see him assaulting another female at the moment.

Police found the suspect matching the caller's description at a bus stop a block away, where the man told police Milligan approached him at Sixth Street and Congress Avenue and said she would call 911 to report he had raped her if he did not get her a beer.

The man told police he did not know her and that because of her erratic behavior, he quickly walked away to the bus stop.

Police again approached Milligan, who they said told them the man had kidnapped her two weeks ago and kept her for several days. However, one of the officers said he had personally seen Milligan recently and had heard of other officers who had come in contact with her.

"Her involvement with our department shows that she has consistent involvement with us numerous times a week for the months of May, June and July," read court documents. "She also frequently makes false rape allegations."

Police said no one around the Sixth Street and Congress Avenue bus stop saw the man assaulting or disturbing Milligan or anyone else.

That's when police said it was clear Milligan had knowingly made a call to 911, given false information about an assault that was not happening and that the call and information elicited an emergency response from APD.

Police went to arrest Milligan, but they said she pulled away from them and fell to the ground. An officer moved in and started to handcuff her when she allegedly kicked out with her left leg, pushing the officer away while he tried to arrest her.

Authorities transported Milligan to Travis County Central Booking, where she allegedly became very irate and kept standing up, cursing and yelling. Authorities said she spat on an officer’s shirt and left forearm after making her sit down on the jail bench.

Milligan is charged with harassment of a public servant, a third-degree felony. Bond is set at $5,000.

The next time someone self-righteously inquires, "Why would a woman lie about rape, given the ordeal she knows she will be put through?" Just tell her that she might lie about rape if a man refuses to buy her a beer. Tell her about the news story below, where Kristin Milligan tried to destroy the life of a man she didn't know because he wouldn't give her a beer. We have seen some terribly lame reasons for falsely accusing men and boys of rape -- we've seen rape lies told as an excuse for being late for work and to get out of paying a cab fare -- but this ranks among the more absurd. The woman in question was a serial false accuser, and fortunately the police were familiar with her and knew enough to stop her before she could destroy an innocent man.

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Authorities arrested Kristin Milligan, 54, after police said she made false reports about being raped and sparked an emergency response from the Austin Police Department Friday.

A couple of police officers responded to Sixth Street and Congress Avenue about a disturbance in progress at 8:15 p.m., after Milligan reportedly called to say there was a male on the scene who had kidnapped and held her captive for five days. Milligan allegedly told the operator he had fled the scene but said she could see him assaulting another female at the moment.

Police found the suspect matching the caller's description at a bus stop a block away, where the man told police Milligan approached him at Sixth Street and Congress Avenue and said she would call 911 to report he had raped her if he did not get her a beer.

The man told police he did not know her and that because of her erratic behavior, he quickly walked away to the bus stop.

Police again approached Milligan, who they said told them the man had kidnapped her two weeks ago and kept her for several days. However, one of the officers said he had personally seen Milligan recently and had heard of other officers who had come in contact with her.

"Her involvement with our department shows that she has consistent involvement with us numerous times a week for the months of May, June and July," read court documents. "She also frequently makes false rape allegations."

Police said no one around the Sixth Street and Congress Avenue bus stop saw the man assaulting or disturbing Milligan or anyone else.

That's when police said it was clear Milligan had knowingly made a call to 911, given false information about an assault that was not happening and that the call and information elicited an emergency response from APD.

Police went to arrest Milligan, but they said she pulled away from them and fell to the ground. An officer moved in and started to handcuff her when she allegedly kicked out with her left leg, pushing the officer away while he tried to arrest her.

Authorities transported Milligan to Travis County Central Booking, where she allegedly became very irate and kept standing up, cursing and yelling. Authorities said she spat on an officer’s shirt and left forearm after making her sit down on the jail bench.

Milligan is charged with harassment of a public servant, a third-degree felony. Bond is set at $5,000.

Don't take my word for what I'm about to tell you, read the article yourself. The Baltimore Sun continued its witch hunt of the Baltimore Police department's handling of rape cases yesterday, highlighting two ten-year-old rape allegations that were initially deemed "unfounded" but which later, the newspaper says, were proven to have been actual rapes. See here. This, presumably, is supposed to prove that the police force generally does not take rape allegations seriously.

In the two cases cited, both young women stopped cooperating with the police because the police supposedly focused on inconsistencies in their accounts and were, in some unspecified manner, confrontational. "They just degrade women," was the conclusory assertion of the mother of one of the young women, posited without specificity. The upshot of the article is that rape victims are not treated seriously. The article quotes a female prosecutor: "It is our job, our mission, as prosecutors to pursue justice for all crime victims," said State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy in an e-mail to The Sun. "For too many victims of sexual crimes, that justice comes years later with newly discovered evidence, most often the result of a cold case DNA hit."

While the failure to bring a rapist to justice can prove tragic, the article strains to blame the police department for the young women's decisions to drop the cases. The "evidence" cited to support blaming the police department is woefully insufficient. In "he said/she said" allegations of serious criminality, and especially in cases where there is often a motive to lie, the police need to search for inconsistencies and to challenge statements that don't add up. The failure to do so can be catastrophic for an innocent man or boy, but that fact never creeps into writer Erica Green's lengthy article.

Young women might decide to drop rape cases for any number of reasons. Often, they know that the case won't hold up. They also know that dropping claims is not socially desirable, and sometimes when they drop them for selfish reasons, they blame the police.

But the Sun's article borders dangerously close on saying that the police should just accept the conclusory assertion of a rape accuser without testing her assertion or challenging its inconsistencies. This, of course, would mean that all manner of accused would be forced to stand trial for rape on even far-fetched claims. In criminal cases, judges routinely instruct jurors that it is up to them to consider the inconsistencies or discrepancies in the testimony of witness. That is not only standard jury instruction fare, it's the stuff on which a lot of criminal cases are won and lost.

This article, on the other hand, finds a purported expert who suggests that police should not deem inconsistencies in the statements of purported rape victims as evidence of a lie. Why? Because "it's consistent that [the victim will] be inconsistent."

Read that last sentence again and let it sink in. Surprised? You shouldn't be. You see, in the rape field, evidence that the "victim" waited 40 years to report is consistent with rape. So is evidence that the "victim" reported immediately. Evidence that the "victim" was calm in relating her alleged ordeal is consistent with rape. So is evidence that the "victim" was excitable. Evidence that the woman insists the accused is her rapist is consistent with rape. So is evidence that the woman recanted.

Get it? Any conduct of the purported victim is evidence of rape. No matter what a rape accuser does, some expert, somewhere, will tell us it is consistent with the way rape victims behave. No human behavior should ever be cited as evidence of a lie so long as a rape accuser did it.

The Sun's article is troubling because it is so terribly lacking in nuance, in balance; it fails even to allude to the awful result of unquestioningly accepting the word of a rape accuser without challenging her inconsistencies, without testing her assertions to see if they hold up.

I wish like hell that the story's author Erica L.Green had checked this Web site, and had read the countless news accounts of recent false rape claims, before she had written her story. While that's surely too much to ask, you'd think, at the very least, she could have checked her own newspaper's archives. I wish like hell Ms. Green had uncovered the story of Bernard Webster, reported by the Sun a few years ago.

Mr. Webster was a young black man who spent spent two decades in prison for an alleged rape he didn't commit on the say so of a white English teacher. The gruelling story of Mr. Webster's ordeal relates the following: The victim"sobbed as she testified, describing how, after they first came face to face, her attacker spun her around and wrapped a house dress around her head so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She said he pressed something hard into her back and told her it was a gun. 'Do you see that person in court today?' asked Assistant State's Attorney Robert W. Lazzaro. 'Yes, I do,' she replied. And then she pointed at Webster. 'That's he.'"

Only it wasn't "he." The article recounts how Mr. Webster felt the antagonism in the Baltimore County courtroom toward him and his friends, all young blacks from the city. Mr. Webster knew the trial was over as soon as the purported victim stated sobbing on the stand when she wrongly identified him. Finally, and years too late, DNA proved Mr. Webster's innocence, and he was released from the hell that took away took decades of his life.

Mr. Webster's case would have served as a valuable cautionary tale about the care required in handling rape cases and the difficulties of achieving justice, and about how it is more important to insure that the innocent go free than to imprison the guilty. By any measure, Mr. Webster's ordeal should be far more unacceptable than the ordeals of the two rape victims. But somehow, that level of nuance doesn't seem to fit with the Sun's agenda to expose the police department's handling of rape cases.

The fact that the Baltimore Police department apparently leads the nation in labeling rape claims as "unfounded" should be investigated by unbiased persons. It is an anomaly that might suggest something is wrong. Underscore "might." But the Sun's effort to foment rape hysteria by focusing on two ten-year-old rapes, by citing conclusory allegations of the women who decided to drop those cases, and by suggesting that police should treat rape accuser's inconsistent accounts the same as consistent accounts -- in effect, just take the word of any purported rape victim that she was raped -- not only is absurd and childishly simplistic, it does a grave disservice to the presumptively innocent.

Bernard Webster's case should serve as a special reminder to Ms. Jessamy, quoted above, that her mission as a prosecutor is not "to pursue justice for all crime victims." Her mission is to pursue justice for everyone. And that includes flotsam like Bernard Webster, and the men and boys we report on every day in this Web site -- people the Baltimore Sun no longer seems to care about.

Don't take my word for what I'm about to tell you, read the article yourself. The Baltimore Sun continued its witch hunt of the Baltimore Police department's handling of rape cases yesterday, highlighting two ten-year-old rape allegations that were initially deemed "unfounded" but which later, the newspaper says, were proven to have been actual rapes. See here. This, presumably, is supposed to prove that the police force generally does not take rape allegations seriously.

In the two cases cited, both young women stopped cooperating with the police because the police supposedly focused on inconsistencies in their accounts and were, in some unspecified manner, confrontational. "They just degrade women," was the conclusory assertion of the mother of one of the young women, posited without specificity. The upshot of the article is that rape victims are not treated seriously. The article quotes a female prosecutor: "It is our job, our mission, as prosecutors to pursue justice for all crime victims," said State's Attorney Patricia C. Jessamy in an e-mail to The Sun. "For too many victims of sexual crimes, that justice comes years later with newly discovered evidence, most often the result of a cold case DNA hit."

While the failure to bring a rapist to justice can prove tragic, the article strains to blame the police department for the young women's decisions to drop the cases. The "evidence" cited to support blaming the police department is woefully insufficient. In "he said/she said" allegations of serious criminality, and especially in cases where there is often a motive to lie, the police need to search for inconsistencies and to challenge statements that don't add up. The failure to do so can be catastrophic for an innocent man or boy, but that fact never creeps into writer Erica Green's lengthy article.

Young women might decide to drop rape cases for any number of reasons. Often, they know that the case won't hold up. They also know that dropping claims is not socially desirable, and sometimes when they drop them for selfish reasons, they blame the police.

But the Sun's article borders dangerously close on saying that the police should just accept the conclusory assertion of a rape accuser without testing her assertion or challenging its inconsistencies. This, of course, would mean that all manner of accused would be forced to stand trial for rape on even far-fetched claims. In criminal cases, judges routinely instruct jurors that it is up to them to consider the inconsistencies or discrepancies in the testimony of witness. That is not only standard jury instruction fare, it's the stuff on which a lot of criminal cases are won and lost.

This article, on the other hand, finds a purported expert who suggests that police should not deem inconsistencies in the statements of purported rape victims as evidence of a lie. Why? Because "it's consistent that [the victim will] be inconsistent."

Read that last sentence again and let it sink in. Surprised? You shouldn't be. You see, in the rape field, evidence that the "victim" waited 40 years to report is consistent with rape. So is evidence that the "victim" reported immediately. Evidence that the "victim" was calm in relating her alleged ordeal is consistent with rape. So is evidence that the "victim" was excitable. Evidence that the woman insists the accused is her rapist is consistent with rape. So is evidence that the woman recanted.

Get it? Any conduct of the purported victim is evidence of rape. No matter what a rape accuser does, some expert, somewhere, will tell us it is consistent with the way rape victims behave. No human behavior should ever be cited as evidence of a lie so long as a rape accuser did it.

The Sun's article is troubling because it is so terribly lacking in nuance, in balance; it fails even to allude to the awful result of unquestioningly accepting the word of a rape accuser without challenging her inconsistencies, without testing her assertions to see if they hold up.

I wish like hell that the story's author Erica L.Green had checked this Web site, and had read the countless news accounts of recent false rape claims, before she had written her story. While that's surely too much to ask, you'd think, at the very least, she could have checked her own newspaper's archives. I wish like hell Ms. Green had uncovered the story of Bernard Webster, reported by the Sun a few years ago.

Mr. Webster was a young black man who spent spent two decades in prison for an alleged rape he didn't commit on the say so of a white English teacher. The gruelling story of Mr. Webster's ordeal relates the following: The victim"sobbed as she testified, describing how, after they first came face to face, her attacker spun her around and wrapped a house dress around her head so tightly that she could hardly breathe. She said he pressed something hard into her back and told her it was a gun. 'Do you see that person in court today?' asked Assistant State's Attorney Robert W. Lazzaro. 'Yes, I do,' she replied. And then she pointed at Webster. 'That's he.'"

Only it wasn't "he." The article recounts how Mr. Webster felt the antagonism in the Baltimore County courtroom toward him and his friends, all young blacks from the city. Mr. Webster knew the trial was over as soon as the purported victim stated sobbing on the stand when she wrongly identified him. Finally, and years too late, DNA proved Mr. Webster's innocence, and he was released from the hell that took away took decades of his life.

Mr. Webster's case would have served as a valuable cautionary tale about the care required in handling rape cases and the difficulties of achieving justice, and about how it is more important to insure that the innocent go free than to imprison the guilty. By any measure, Mr. Webster's ordeal should be far more unacceptable than the ordeals of the two rape victims. But somehow, that level of nuance doesn't seem to fit with the Sun's agenda to expose the police department's handling of rape cases.

The fact that the Baltimore Police department apparently leads the nation in labeling rape claims as "unfounded" should be investigated by unbiased persons. It is an anomaly that might suggest something is wrong. Underscore "might." But the Sun's effort to foment rape hysteria by focusing on two ten-year-old rapes, by citing conclusory allegations of the women who decided to drop those cases, and by suggesting that police should treat rape accuser's inconsistent accounts the same as consistent accounts -- in effect, just take the word of any purported rape victim that she was raped -- not only is absurd and childishly simplistic, it does a grave disservice to the presumptively innocent.

Bernard Webster's case should serve as a special reminder to Ms. Jessamy, quoted above, that her mission as a prosecutor is not "to pursue justice for all crime victims." Her mission is to pursue justice for everyone. And that includes flotsam like Bernard Webster, and the men and boys we report on every day in this Web site -- people the Baltimore Sun no longer seems to care about.